The Remainings
by Raffee
Summary: Mio Amakura had lost all of her desire to live after the occurrence of the ritual. What happened when she eventually met up with the spirit guide, also known as one of the many other remainings, Itsuki Tachibana? Mio Amakura x Itsuki Tachibana
1. Meeting an Old Acquaintance

**Disclaimer : I do not any characters in this fanfic. They belong to the creator of this game.**

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**Chapter I**

**Meeting an Old Acquaintance**

She held her head in pain, barely registering of what had just happened in front of her eyes. Everything seemed to be proceeding so quickly. Her mind was struck with so many thoughts and flashbacks. The Kusabi, The Mourners, The spirits that were finally freed from the curse and darkness, the ritual, and finally...

Her _sister_.

"Mayu..." Mio called out slowly. The tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision of the dark woods slightly. She knelt down, covering her face with her pale hands; hands that she thought were full with burning sins. "Why... why did I even do such a thing...?"

Mio wouldn't stop crying. The crimson butterflies had all flown up to the heaven, but she remained lost in the village. The worst part was that, she didn't have her sister beside her. No, she didn't have _anyone _beside her, to stay with her, to keep her accompany, or to at least comfort her.

She kept on sobbing for a minute, until she heard a sound of footsteps coming her way. She froze on her spot, not daring to look back at all. She took a glance on the ground below her, and noticed that she had no camera obscura with her; she probably dropped it back at the abyss, before she chased after her sister and all the other butterflies.

The footsteps were coming closer, and finally stopped right behind her. Her breath was caught inside her lungs. She stopped sobbing, although the tears were still dripping onto the ground silently. There was a silence at first, and then suddenly, she felt a hand was placed on her right shoulder, and instinctively, she stood up and quickly ran away from the woods, and toward the All God's Village.

It was night time, and Mio couldn't see things very clearly, plus the fact that she was crying and had no flashlight with her. When she was running through the coarse path, she accidentally tripped on a rock, causing her to fall and rolled down slightly on the ground. She winced slightly before proceeding on standing up and kept running away, but once again, she felt someone placed a hand on her right shoulder, which made her stopped her action and immediately froze on her spot all.

"Yae!" a familiar voice called out from behind her. "Why did you run off like that?"

Mio's eyes widened as she slowly turned her body around, only to find the smiling white-haired boy staring down at her.

Her breath was caught in her lungs. "I-Itsuki...?"

"I've been looking allover for you, Yae." He trailed off. "I just found out that you actually did the ritual with Sae, and both of you had succeeded." By the time he said this, his smile slowly faded. "I thought you already ran out of the village with her, Yae. I can't believe that-"

"Itsuki, please..." Mio cut him off, bowing her head slightly, so her bangs were covering half of her face. "I'm... I'm not Yae..."

Itsuki stared at her confusedly.

"I'm Mio, Amakura Mio. You've been mistaking me as Yae Kurosawa, you and everyone else in this village." She continued. Tears started to well up in her eyes again.

"But I thought you did the ritual with Sa-"

"THAT WAS **NOT **SAE!" Mio suddenly yelled, rage building up inside her. "That was my sister, **_Mayu_**! She was possessed by that-... that hideous monster! She was possessed by Sae!" Mio sobbed, putting both of her palms on her eyes. "I wanted to run away! I really did! But I couldn't just left Mayu behind! I had no other choice than to perform the ritual with my her! And now... now she is gone because of me..."

Itsuki knelt down beside her and slowly stroke her hair. "I'm really sorry, Mio-chan."

"No, no... you shouldn't be. You had been a lot of help to us, Itsuki. I haven't even thanked you properly for that." Mio said, forcing to smile a bit. "But apparently I was too late, and instead of escaping together with my sister, I performed the ritual with her."

"Mio-chan..." he began. "The path toward the exit is now open... if you wish to leave this place." Itsuki suggested.

"It doesn't matter, does it?" she answered. "Whether I leave or not, the condition will still be the same. My life will change forever from now on; I won't have my sister by my side anymore. I'm alone and will always be."

"You're not alone; I'm here with you now." Itsuki said, trying to comfort her a bit.

Mio finally looked up, gazing at the smiling boy in front of her. "Chotto matte, Itsuki... I thought you were supposed to be... um...-"

"Dead?" Itsuki cut her off. "Yes, I know. I don't really understand what happened, when I woke up, I found myself laying on the ground right outside my cell." He explained.

Mio's gaze softened as she placed one of her hands upon Itsuki's pale one. "How come I can touch you? You don't look like nor feel like a dead person at all." She said.

The boy's cheeks suddenly turned pink, realizing that his hand was actually held by Mio. "Em, Maybe I.. Am not... dead?" he asked himself rather than answering her. Suddenly, his blue eyes widened and he grabbed Mio's hand fondly. "If I am half alive and half not, then there is a possibility that Chitose and Mutsuki are too!" he exclaimed and stood up on the ground, pulling Mio with him. "We've got to go and check on them!" he ran off while still holding onto Mio's hand.

She followed him from behind, or was rather dragged by him. He led her toward his house, which reminded her of the ghosts that she had encountered. She immediately stopped on her track, causing the white-haired boy to stumble back slightly.

"I... I don't want to go in there." She whispered lowly.

Itsuki raised an eyebrow at her. "Why not?"

Mio shook her head slowly, taking a step back from the house. "I don't want to go in there..." she repeated. "I don't have the camera with me this time; I don't want to go in there..."

Itsuki walked closer to her and took her hand back in his. "Don't worry, Mio-chan. Nothing will happen to you, I promise. We'll be going there together." He assured, pulling Mio gently toward him. "Now, shall we go inside?"

Mio looked at him, before nodding her head slowly. Itsuki smiled down at her, and proceeded on entering the house. He opened the door slowly, causing it to creaked loudly, making Mio shuddered beside him. She hugged his left arm tightly, eyes wandering around the dark hallway where they were in. Itsuki's pale face once again turned pink, but he tried to ignore it and walked inside the room a little further. They walked upstairs and went through many doors that led to one another. Mio couldn't help but to wonder how Itsuki managed to remember every part of the house.

After walking through so many doors, Itsuki finally stopped in front of one. Mio recognized it as the door of Itsuki's and Mutsuki's room. Itsuki looked back at her and smile. "This is it." He said as he turned the knob slowly, pushing the door open and took a step inside. Mio followed behind him, finally letting go of his arm to let him search inside the room. She walked to the right part of the room while Itsuki examined the left part. Her eyes stopped at the closet in the corner of the room.

_There... there is supposed to be a dead body on it..._ she thought while approaching the closet slowly. When she was about to turned back, suddenly, she felt a cold hand was gripping tightly on her right wrist. She turned her head around and saw a man with a pale and bloody face was standing right in front of her.

"Yae... you have returned..." the man whispered. "I knew you would, I have been waiting for you, Yae..."

Mio's eyes widened in fear as she tried to wriggle out of his grip.

"I've been wanting to tell you how much I love you, Yae..." the man continued while taking a step closer to Mio.

She tried to step back and run away from the man, but she found herself penetrated under the man's gaze. When the man took another step closer to her, suddenly, she felt herself being pulled back out of the man's grip by a pair of gentle hands.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" she heard Itsuki yelled loudly. He stepped in front of her, hiding her behind his tall body, while facing the bloody man with no sign of fear on his face.

The man frowned slightly before floating back to the wall behind him. "I love you, Yae... I always... love you... _love you... love you_" he said before finally disappeared into the darkness.

Mio whimpered slightly before burying her face into Itsuki's hard chest. Itsuki tensed up at first, before finally putting his arms around her protectively, hoping to calm her down.

"It's okay, Mio-chan. He's gone now." He reassured, stroking Mio's hair slowly.

She looked up, meeting her eyes with his. "Who... who was that...?"

"His name was Itoshi Imamura. All I know that he was Yae's secret admirer, who always sent her love letters and stuffs like that." Itsuki chuckled. "Unfortunately, Yae was oblivious of his feelings, and he was too shy to confess them to Yae." He said. "He must have mistaken you as her somehow."

Mio sighed before pulling away from the embrace. "Do I really look a lot like her?" she asked.

"I think so. You're just like a mirror image of her." Itsuki answered. "The only differences are your hairstyle, and the way you dress."

"I'm guessing you think I look crazy in this outfit." Mio stated bluntly, looking down at her brown uniform.

Itsuki quickly shook his head. "No, not at all! You look rather nice in that." He said. When he realized what he just said to her, he blushed slightly. "Well anyway, let's continue our search for Mutsuki and Chitose!" he said rather nervously, suddenly changing the subject.

"You mean, you haven't found him?" Mio asked and Itsuki quickly shook his head. "Okay then, let's go search for them somewhere else."

Itsuki nodded and walked out of the room together with Mio. When they arrived at the hallway, suddenly, a sound of a bell was heard.

_Tring._

Both Mio and Itsuki glanced at one another, before yelling the same word in unison.

"Chitose!"


	2. Separated

**Disclaimer : I do not any characters in this fanfic. They belong to the creator of this game.**

*********

**Chapter II**

**S****eparated**

_**Trink**_

The sound of the bell. It was coming closer every second. Both Mio and Itsuki darted out of the room hurriedly, with Itsuki leading in the front. The boy was quite a runner, since Mio had a hard time catching up with him. The darkness in the hall was blinding her view; she couldn't focus on where she was going. Suddenly, she stumbled on the loose wooden floor beneath her and landed on a ground with a thud.

"Itai..." she muttered while getting up slowly. She squinted her eyes, trying to see the white-haired boy who was previously running not too far in front of her, only to find that he was nowhere in sight.

"Matte, Itsuki!" Mio called out, but she heard no reply. She stood upright and was ready to run after him, but unfortunately, something had stopped her from doing so. No, _someone _ had stopped her _feet _from doing so. She froze on her spot when she felt a pair of cold hands was holding onto her right leg for dear life. Very slowly, she turned her head around to see what was holding onto her. Her eyes widened as soon as she saw what she was _not _supposed to see. And then, she screamed her lungs out.

* * *

Itsuki halted abruptly as he heard a loud screaming coming from a distant. He looked behind him and realized that Mio was no longer following him.

"Mio-chan!" the white-haired boy yelled out while running back to where his companion supposed to be. He stopped around the corner when he saw the terrified girl was being pulled by an angered spirit from underneath the floor.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Itsuki yelled, making both Mio and the spirit turned their gazes at him.

The spirit slowly loosen its grip on Mio's leg, and Mio quickly staggered toward Itsuki, but collapsed on the floor before she could even reach him.

"Mio-chan!" Itsuki called out, running toward the whimpering girl. He knelt down beside her and put a hand on her trembling shoulder. "Daijoubu desuka?"

Mio managed to nod slowly in response. She looked up at Itsuki and crooked a small smile at him. "Pathetic, huh?"

Itsuki raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you talking about?"

Mio looked away from the boy's gaze and stared at the floor below them. "I always thought about... how Mayu would live through all of this without me by her side."

Itsuki kept quiet and waited for her to continue.

"I thought that... I thought that she would be helpless without me. But now I know that I was wrong." She started sobbing. "I never thought that _**I**_ am the one who's truly miserable without her..." she cried.

Itsuki couldn't stand seeing her cry like this. The last time he saw someone crying was when Chitose accidentally fell off the stairs when she was playing with both him and Mutsuki. He believed seeing Mio in this kind of state was worse than seeing his sister cried, since he knew that Mio had always been the strongest one of the twins.

Hesitantly, he put his arms around the crying girl and pulled her into a warm embrace. "There, there, Mio-chan. There's no need to be upset about it." Itsuki whispered, stroking Mio's dark hair softly. "I used to think like that also when Mutsuki was still alive. Believe me, I understand your pain."

Mio looked up at the white-haired boy. Her eyes showed a hint of confusion. "No, there's no way someone like you could ever-"

"I'm telling the truth, Mio-chan." Itsuki cut her off. "We went into the same misery. We both had performed the ritual, and we both had lost our dearest twin. Then only difference is that your sister managed to become a butterfly, while my brother did not."

Mio's head fell down slightly, hearing what the boy just said. "Hai... but you still have Chitose!" she contradicted, slightly pouncing on Itsuki's chest.

The handsome boy chuckled in response. "Yes, but not anymore since we have lost track of her." He got up, pulling Mio with him and held her hand tightly in his. "I'll make sure you stay close with me, so you won't get caught by another ghost in the house... Aside from my self, that is." Itsuki smiled warmly at her.

Mio's face flushed darkly, almost matching the color of the bow tie that she was wearing. "H-Hai. Arigato, Itsuki." She said, tightening her grip on Itsuki's pale hand.

The boy grinned at her, earning a small smile in return.

* * *

They had been walking in the house for hours. They went upstairs and downstairs, and even under the ground. Still, there was no sign of Chitose anywhere.

"I don't get it." Mio said. "We've looked everywhere, where could your sister possibly be?"

Itsuki shrugged. "I have no idea..."

They both decided to stop and rest for a little while in the small corridor, near the entrance of the Tachibana's house. The place was empty, silent, and dead.

"Is this place always like this when you were still alive?" Mio asked.

Itsuki seemed to be thinking for a bit. "No, not really. I don't really know what had happened to this place... I mean, I was dead before it all happened." He laughed lightly.

"Still, I can't stop thinking why you are still alive now, though." Mio said, looking at Itsuki who was sitting beside her.

Silence fell upon both of them right after Mio spoke her mind out. Itsuki then raised his right hand slowly placed in on Mio's right cheek.

"Do I... Do I feel cold to you?" he asked.

"N-No..." the girl answered while staring into Itsuki's blue orbs, slowly getting lost into it.

Itsuki's own gaze fell upon a pair of soft pink lips which was only 8 inches away from his face. Oh, how he had longed for his first kiss. He hadn't had a single one when he was still alive years ago. Even his twin brother had shared his first kiss with Sae.

Very slowly and hesitantly, he leaned closer to Mio's now pink face. He could feel her tensing up at the close distant between the two of them, her breathing got caught up in her lungs. Itsuki was only a millimeter away from her delicate face, and was ready to close the gap between them, when suddenly; a sound of a sliding door was heard from the closet next to him, making both Mio and him backed up in surprise. Both of their heartbeats increased dramatically because of the sudden jolt of the noise.

Itsuki turned to his right, his eyes widened when he saw who was coming out of the closet. "CHITOSE!"

The little crimson kimono girl jumped out in surprise as she heard someone calling her name. Her face immediately brightened when she realized whose voice it belonged to. "Itsuki nii-san!"

Chitose ran up to her brother's welcoming arms and hugged him tightly by his neck. Itsuki pulled his little sister closer to his body protectively, preventing her from falling onto the floor as he stood up.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Chitose. We were looking allover the house for you!" Itsuki said, smiling down at his dear sister.

"We?" the little girl asked him confusedly before she spotted Mio who was sitting on the floor next to her and his brother. She immediately jumped out from his brother embrace and surprisingly, ran toward the startled Mio and quickly hugged her by the neck. "Yae nee-chan! You did it!" she yelled.

Mio stared at Chitose's smiling face and asked blankly. "I did... what?"

"You came back! You came back for me and Itsuki nii-san! Thanks to you, I don't feel cold anymore!" Chitose exclaimed happily.

Mio mentally slapped herself on the face. She forgot that Chitose didn't know anything about the ritual and her dead brothers. And again, she had been mistaken as Yae.

"Um... Chitose-chan, I _did_ come back for you. But I'm not Yae."

Hearing what Mio had said, Chitose immediately pulled away from the hug and stared at the face of Yae confusedly.

"She's not Yae, Chitose." Itsuki added. "She's Mio Amakura. Don't worry, she's a friend of mine."

Chitose suddenly ran back to Itsuki and hid behind his legs. Mio giggled at the girl's embarrassment and slowly approached her. "I may be a stranger to you, Chitose-chan. But I'm not going to hurt you."

Chitose still didn't move from her hiding spot, making her brother sighed deeply. "She's very shy around new people, Mio-chan. Gomen ne."

Mio quickly shook her head at him. "Don't worry about it, Itsuki." She said while blushing a bit. "So... shall we go and search for Mutsuki then?"

* * *

There! Thanks for anyone who has read/reviewed/favorited this story. It really means a lot to me! ^_^

I just hope I can update soon.

Ja ne!


	3. Mutsuki

******Disclaimer : I do not any characters in this fanfic. They belong to the creator of this game.**

**Chapter III**

**Mutsuki**

Both of the remaining twins and the little Chitose were on their way to find the lost Mutsuki. The Crimson-kimono girl kept hiding behind Itsuki's back, not wanting to have an eye contact with Mio. She gave a peak at Mio every once in a while, but burried her face back in Itsuki's arms when she got caught stealing a glance at whom she thought as Yae's reincarnation.

"Chitose..." Itsuki called out, pushing his sister toward Mio. "She's not going to hurt you, you know. So you don't have to keep hiding from her."

Chitose whimpered a little as she stood in front of the smiling Amakura. Mio bent down a little, until she was at Chitose's eye level. They both looked eachother for a minute. Mio held out her hand slowly, not wanting to make the little crimson kimono girl even more scared than she already was.

Chitose only looked at Mio's hand confusedly, not knowing what to do.

"I know you're afraid of new people, Chitose-chan. But if we're going to find your brother together, then we have to start trusting each other from now on." Mio said, still holding her hand out for Chitose to shake. "So what do you say? Truce?"

Chitose stared at Mio's hand for a moment, then back at her brother. She gave him a hopeful lk, as if asking him whether she should trst Mio or not. Itsuki only nodded at her while smiling, letting her know that she should.

The little girl averted her gaze back at Mio before finally shaking Mio's pale hand with her own. "T-Truce." She said while smiling shyly.

Mio smiled back at her, releasing her hand as they both finished handshaking. She stood back upright, facing Itsuki who was standing next to his little sister.

"Well then ladies, ready to continue our journey?" he asked rather playfully, making Mio smiled at him in return.

"Hai, let's go."

* * *

The three of them had been walking around the house for hours. Chitose was now sleeping soundly on Itsuki's back. Mio was as worn out as her, she had been walking around the village all day, without any rest nor food to refill her drained energy.

Itsuki seemed to notice this. Mio's face looked even paler than its original colour, and her speed kept going slower and slower by the second. He felt a bit guilty since he was the reason that made her ended up searching for his twin brother in the first place.

He led her to where Chitose's room was, putting Chitose in her mattress in process. He tucked his sister in then went out of her room to meet back with Mio.

"You're leaving her there? Are you sure it's safe?" Mio asked as Itsuki slid the door shut behind him.

"It's okay. Chitose is also the owner of this house, so the other spirits in this house still have some respects not to disturb her." Itsuki explained.

They were both silent at first, not knowing what to do nor say. Itsuki decided to break the awkward silence which they were in. "Maybe you should also rest for a while, Mio-chan."

Mio shook her head, "No need to. I'm perfectly fine," she smiled. "Come on, the sooner we find your brother, the better."

"Well, if you say so..." Itsuki said.

The both of them then continued their walk in silence; through the hall and down the stairs. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Itsuki suddenly halted and slapped his forehead with his palm.

"Baka! I forgot to leave a note for Chitose, telling her where you and I are heading!"

"Should we go back and tell her?"

Itsuki shook his head, "No, I'll go. It's kind of a long way back there, and you're already exhausted. You stay here and wait for me, okay Mio-chan?"

Mio was about to contradict, but Ituki had already fleeted from the room, "Oh no." She whispered, taking a glance at her dark surroundings. Feeling the tensity slowly crawling up her feet, she decided to sit on the staircase, waiting for Itsuki's return. She locked her gaze onto the floor, not wanting to spot any inhuman figure inside the room. She started humming a lullaby slowly, hoping to ease the fear in her chest.

_Kirakira hikaru, osora no hoshi yo _

_Mabataki shite wa Minna o miteru _

_Kirakira no hoshi yo._

_CREAK_

Mio froze. That creaking sound was _not_ part of her lyrics. She swore she heard it coming from behind her. She hugged her knees and forced herself to keep singing and shrug the nose away from her head. But as she opened her mouth, the sound came back again.

_CREAK_

_CREAK_

_CREAK_

Mio hugged her knees tighter to her chest and buried her face in it. The creaking sound grew louder and louder until the formed themselves into the sound of footsteps. They were heading closer in a fast pace. Mio prayed them to be Itsuki's, but she knew well enough that Itsuki couldn't be back this soon. The noise drew closer to her ears and Mio gathered all the courage she had left to get up and run away, but 2 arms wrapped themselves around her as she stood up, preventing her from moving further. She gasped and attempted to struggle free from the firm grasp, but the arms were too strong.

"Yae-chan! I can't believe I've finally found you!" her captor said and Mio stopped squirming in instance. "You have no idea how much I've missed you!"

Mio turned around as the arms around her loosened their grip, only to come face-to-face with a black-haired version of Itsuki Tachibana, "You..."

The boy smiled down at her, "Don't tell me you've forgotten about me already. I don't think I've been dead for that long."

Mio didn't know what to say. She didn't know what shocked her more; the boy in front of her or the fact that she found him solid and alive.

"M-mutsuki?" she stuttered hesitantly.

"There you go, now you remember!" he grinned widely, hugging her again.

"Uh, I'm sorry to break our reunion but, I'm not Yae." Mio said and pulled herself away from Mutsuki's embrace. "I'm Mio, Amakura Mio"

"You're not... Yae?"

Mio shook her head briefly.

"F-forgive me, miss! I mistook you for an old friend of mine!" the boy repeatedly bowed in shame.

"It's alright, I get that a lot," the pale girl chuckled lightly at Mutsuki's reaction.

"But if you're not Yae," Mutsuki said as soon as he regained his composure, "How come you know my name?"

"It's a long story, not to mention complicated as well..."

"Oh."

"Anyway, now that I've found you, we have to go see your brother!"

"My... brother...?" Mutsuki trailed off, eyes gleaming with shock and delight. "My brother is here too?"

"Yes!" Mio exclaimed, taking a hold of Mutsuki's hand. "Quick, we have to find him! He'll be so happy to see you!" Without further ado, Mio dashed toward the way she came, pulling Mutsuki along with her. She couldn't wait to bring the twin brothers back together.

* * *

Itsuki was walking in the hallway when he heard footsteps coming from behind him. He turned around to see Mio with Mutsuki - much to his surprise - running towards him. His eyes immediately widened as his brother stopped in front of him.

"Mutsuki...?" he asked in disbelief.

There, standing right in front of his eyes, was his twin brother whom he hadn't seen in ages, and whom he hadn't expected to see again in his life. Mutsuki seemed as shocked as he was, but apparently not shocked enough to stop himself from tackling Itsuki into a hug.

"Itsuki!" the black haired boy cried in joy. "I can't believe it's you!"

"And I can't believe it's you!"

"You don't know how much I missed you!"

"You don't know how much I missed you either!"

"Hey, stop repeating after me, will you?" Mutsuki retorted playfully.

Mio could only smile seeing the reunion of the twins. She looked at Itsuki's happy face and felt something churning inside of her - in a good way. Once the boys had finished embracing each other, they both turned to face Mio. Itsuki approached her and suddenly grabbed both of her hands in his own, holding them firmly.

"Mio-chan, thank you very much for your help. You have no idea how much this means to me," he said, eyes gleaming at her.

"You're welcome, Itsuki," Mio gladly smiled back at her.

Mutsuki stared at the both of them with a sly grin forming on his face. "I believe I had only been gone for a few years, but, wow. I'd never thought you would've found yourself a girlfriend during that time."

"WHAT?" Itsuki yelled, "She's... she's not my girlfriend, who gave you that idea anyway?"

"You," Mutsuki pointed at Itsuki's right hand, which was still attached to Mio's.

Realizing that he was still holding onto Mio's hand, Itsuki quickly pulled away, cheeks reddening ever so slightly.

"It's okay, I don't mind really. It's great seeing you having a girlfriend like her."

"I told you, Mio-chan is not my girlfriend!"

"No need to be embarrassed, Itsuki. You have my blessing."

"But I-"

"Promise me you'll take care of Amakura-san, okay? You are really lucky to have her."

Itsuki sighed and hung his head low, "You just won't listen, will you?"

Mutsuki only grinned at both his brother and Mio, "Do I ever?"

* * *

**TWO YEARS OF HIATUS  
Two. Whole. Friggin. Years.**

I should be placed behind bars for this.  
Sorry for everyone whom I have disappointed.  
I shall go punish myself by jumping into the hellish abyss.

Thanks for those who have bothered to review this fic! You guys are just awesome.


	4. The End

**Disclaimer : I do not any characters in this fanfic. They belong to the creator of this game.**

**Chapter IV**

**The End **

The sky was still pitch black, coating the whole village with eerie darkness that seemed to last forever. Mutsuki, the eldest of the Tachibana Twins, had left both Mio and Itsuki alone after he reunited with his little sister. He figured the two of them needed a little time for themselves, that's why he decided to spend his time with Chitose in his house while Itsuki took Mio for a walk outside.

The white-haired boy was standing near the entrance gate of the village with Mio. He had his gaze locked at the girl next to him, who was staring intently at the gate before them, lost in her thoughts.

"Mio-chan?" Itsuki called out, making the girl jump in surprise.

"Y-yeah?"

"You know, you don't have to leave if you don't want to," Itsuki said. "You can always stay here with us."

Mio sighed deeply, turning around to take a good look at the village. The mere sight of it sent shivers down her spine. "I can't, Itsuki. This place holds so many… unpleasant memories…" she bit her lip hard. "…especially the one about my sister."

She started quivering and Itsuki couldn't stop his heart from aching at the sight.

"But it's not like it matters whether I stay here or not. I will always be reminded of my sister's death wherever I go. Because it was entirely… my fault."

"Don't say that!" the white-haired boy exclaimed, grabbing Mio by the shoulders. "She died for a good reason, Mio-chan. And you did what you had to do, you had no other option!"

"I could've escaped together with her, Itsuki, and you know that!" Mio yelled out. "You knew that we had a chance to escape, that's why you helped me by showing me the right ways to go!"

"Well then I was wrong! I thought you were Yae and I didn't realize that history was actually repeating itself. I didn't realize that those things we had gone through already happened years ago!"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU REALIZE THAT, THEN?" Mio shouted, tears started forming in her eyes. "Why didn't you realize that everything I went through had already happened before? Why did you even give me hope to escape from here?" she panted, all of her anger, distress, and frustration came pouring out at once.

"So what if I _did_ tell you then? Would you give up on your sister and escape from the village on your own?"

The moment he saw Mio tensing at his statement, Itsuki immediately regretted his words.

"Mio-chan, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"No, it's alright," the black-haired girl whispered out while staring at her feet. "You're right. Even if I _did_ know that we _didn't_ have a chance of escaping, I still would've done what I had done." She sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry for lashing out at you, Itsuki."

"It's alright, don't worry about it," Itsuki smiled, reaching his right hand to carress Mio's tear-stained face. "Like I said, I know how it feels like to lose someone most important to you."

The girl nodded, looking up to meet Itsuki's gaze. As soon as their eyes met, she became lost in his alluring pair of blue orbs. She felt him wipe away the wet trail of tears on her cheeks, before moving his palm down to the crook of her neck.

"But what you had done did not only cause you to lose your sister. You have saved the whole village from disappearing, Mio-chan. You've saved _me," _the boy smiled. "And I know it's really selfish for me to say this, but…" Itsuki murmured, moving his face closer to Mio's. "But I don't want you to leave this place. I don't want you to leave... _me_..."

Mio gulped down slowly, trying to control the heat that was rising on her face. "W-why not?"

"Because," he inched closer to her red face. "Because I love you, Mio-chan." And with that, he closed the gap between them, pressing his lips against Mio's soft ones.

Mio's eyes immediately widen at the sudden contact, her cheeks flaring in shock and embarrassment. She felt Itsuki deepen their kiss and she slowly closed her eyes, trying to enjoy the moment.

Itsuki placed his hands on Mio's shoulders and pushed her lightly so her back was leaning onto the tree behind her. He licked her lips, wanting her to open them. When she did, he wasted no time on entering the sweet cavern of her mouth, coaxing her tongue with his own.

Mio felt her head going dizzy from the heated kiss, and she was trying so hard to keep her feet standing straight to support her body.

After what seemed like an eternity, Itsuki finally pulled away, leaning his forehead against Mio's. They were both panting hard, trying to regain their breath.

"S-sorry Mio-chan, I didn't mean to go that far," Itsuki stammered, face as red as Mio's own.

"I-i-it's okay… I don't mind at all," Mio answered. "And I… I… love you too, Itsuki."

Hearing what Mio had said, Itsuki grinned widely. He lowered his head to capture Mio's lips once more. This time, Mio wasted no time on kissing back, their tongues intertwining and dancing together inside their mouths.

Itsuki became bolder by the second. He lowered his hand to touch the girl's exposed cleavage, causing her to gasp into the kiss. Itsuki smiled, his right hand playing with the red bow on Mio's chest while his other hand slid down to grab the hem of her brown shirt. He slowly crept his left hand into her shirt, rubbing softly on Mio's stomach, making the girl shudder, when he suddenly heard a loud whistle from behind him.

"Whoa, I left you two for a moment and _this_ is what you're doing?"

Itsuki immediately pulled away from the kiss and turned around to see his brother standing with Chitose beside him. "M-Mutsuki! What are you doing here?" he asked, obviously flustered after getting caught by his twin brother.

"I thought you guys have finished your business, but it seems like you just got busy," Mutsuki smiled slyly. "Good thing Chitose couldn't see what you were doing there, or you'd be in **_big_** trouble."

Both Mio and Itsuki blushed hard at this.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you two alone. Have fun then!" Mutsuki added with a wink before taking his sister back to the village.

"Wait a minute, Mutsuki!" Itsuki yelled out. "We weren't doing anything you thought we were!"

"Like I'm gonna buy that lame excuse, little brother," Itsuki retorted without stopping his steps.

Once he was out of sight, Itsuki turned to face Mio who was still red from what had happened earlier. "Er… so anyway, Mio-chan…"

"Y-yes?"

"Have you decided what to do then?" he stared down at her hopefully. "Do you still want to leave this village?"

Mio glanced at the gate behind her, and then back at the dark village in front of her. After a long thinking, she finally nodded her head before smiling up at Itsuki. "I think I have an even better idea."

* * *

"Mio! Hurry up or you'll be late for school!"

"Coming, Kei ji-san!" Mio yelled out before dashing out of her bed room and knocked the door across from hers. "Itsuki! Mutsuki! Come on out before I leave you guys behind!"

"Coming, Mio-chan!" came the answer from behind the door, followed by 2 identical boys running out of the room, halting in front of Mio. "Okay, we're ready now!"

"Well, let's go then!" Mio said as the three of them ran down the stairs and into the dining room.

"Good morning, everyone," a little shorthaired girl greeted from inside the dining room, putting the toasts she had made onto the plates on the table.

"Morning, Chitose-chan!" the three teens answered in unison, taking turns on ruffling Chitose's hair, before grabbing their breakfast from their plates and ran out of the door in hurry. "We're leaving now!"

"Take care!" Chitose called out while preparing another breakfast for Mio's uncle.

"Don't get into any trouble!" Kei added. "And that goes for you, Mutsuki!"

"Ugh…" the dark-haired boy groaned as he closed the front door behind him. "Why does Kei-san always say that everytime we go to school?"

Mio rolled her eyes at this. "Because you always end up at the principal's office every week."

Mutsuki only chuckled while entering the school bus with his brother and his friend. "True, true."

The three of them took their usual seats as they got inside the bus, Mio sat with Itsuki while Mutsuki sat at the very back with his friends.

The pale girl stared out of the window as the bus went down the road. So many things had happened in one year. She had made the perfect decision to not only leave the lost village along with the memories behind her, but to also bring Itsuki and his siblings along with her. Now the four of them – 5 with her uncle – were living together in her uncle's house. The man was really generous to let the Tachibana siblings live with them after Mio explained to him everything that had happened during her time away at the forest.

"Mio-chan?" she heard her boyfriend called out from beside her and she turned to her right to face him. "You're spacing out. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking…" Mio smiled up at him.

"Thinking? About what?"

"Nothing important," she answered before receiving a soft kiss from Itsuki on the lips.

"Hey you two! Get a room, will you!" came Mutsuki's voice from the back of the bus.

Itsuki pulled away and laughed together with his girlfriend. "I could never figure out how he always manages to catch us every time we kiss."

"Me neither," Mio giggled, leaning her head on her now-black-haired boyfriend's shoulder before staring out of the window again.

She had gone through a lot of things after her sister's death, some of them were not that easy to deal with. But with Itsuki beside her, along with Mutsuki and Chitose, Mio felt lonely no more, and living became easier with the three of them around, even if her sister wasn't there with her.

A glowing crimson butterfly suddenly flew by the window where Mio was at. Her eyes immediately widened when she spotted it fluttering right in front of her. _'Mayu?'_

She then heard a voice that belonged to no one other than her sister's. _'I'm glad that you're not lonely anymore,' _it whispered into her ears as the crimson butterfly flew high to the sky before finally disappearing from sight. _'Now... I can finally go.'_

Mio pressed one hand on the window glass, gazing at the blue sky above her, a soft smile grazing her lips.

"See something interesting, Mio-chan?"

Mio shook her head at her boyfriend's question before leaning back to rest her head on his broad shoulder. "No, it was nothing." she closed her eyes as an image of her sister appeared inside her mind. But this time, she didn't feel the usual burden on her shoulders. This time, she felt at complete ease.

_'Rest in peace, onee-chan.'_

* * *

Phew, finally! This short series is finished!  
Thanks a lot for everyone who has reviewed! I appreciate you guys more than those **SILENT READERS** who didn't even bother to say ANYTHING regarding my fic! *gets all emotional*  
Ahaha~ Kidding~  
But really, sometimes reviews work better than to just favorite the story without leaving any comment, because it boosts my spirits up!  
But I'm still thankful for everyone who sticks to this (long-updated) fic until the end, even if some of you didn't even bother to review it, I'M STILL REALLY GRATEFUL! *hugs*

Oh yeah, and if you think this series is too short, I have a reason for it.  
It was meant to be short anyway because I only wanted to write what happened after Mio had killed her sister.  
If I made this story long, I would end up creating another game of Fatal Frame II. **I'M A WRITER, NOT AT GAME MAKER! D:**  
Well, I hope you guys still enjoyed it!

Thank you so much! And Happy New Year!


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